Let’s be clear: the MI are not coddling their captain. “Rohit is fully fit,” says head coach Mahela Jayawardene, and the decision to make him an Impact Sub is a matter of tactics. What many were reading as a hedge on his well-being is simply a way to manage the team in a season that has been anything but smooth.
Why the choice matters now
You can see why people would think otherwise. Ever since he was back from his hamstring, you didn’t see him out there much. That kind of thing makes for good speculation. But Jayawardene has put a stop to it: Rohit is there to be used, and this is about the game plan, not being overcautious with him medically.
“Our medical team and I, we see him at 100 per cent,” Jayawardene put it. “We were a little careful in the first game after the injury. But now? He’s an Impact Sub to give us the right combination when we’re in the field. He’s a team player; he gets it.”
Some of the main things to come out of Jayawardene’s comments:
– Rohit is fully fit; we aren’t coddling him
– We use the Impact Sub to keep the bowling in check
– What you saw from Surya was a lack of confidence, not a technical issue
– The decision on Bumrah was made with the room
– We need to figure out why the core didn’t click
The rule is there to be used, and MI have been using it to reconfigure the side for chases. Jayawardene is all for having a balanced attack, and that is where you find Rohit coming in with the bat. It is a change of tune from how they had him set up at the start of the year.
It has been a campaign with its share of hiccups. Injuries at inopportune times have thrown a wrench in the works for the five-time champions. They have the talent, but it has been hard to get into a groove.
When you separate the man from the fitness talk, you get a clearer picture in the room. It shows you have faith in him and gives you a card to play when you bowl. It is as much a statement as it is a move – one driven by strategy, not by the need to put him on a pedestal.
Suryakumar Yadav gets public backing
While the role debate was making headlines, the more pressing issue for MI has been with the bat. You would expect more from someone like Suryakumar Yadav, who is supposed to be your go-to in the middle overs. Lately, the order has been without its most versatile piece.
Jayawardene is calling for some composure. “Surya is a natural. Right now it is a case of confidence, of going through a patch. That is cricket for you,” he said. The point was made in no uncertain terms: it was a slump, not a problem with the way he’s put together.
A misfiring middle order and the price of it
You can’t put it past Mumbai to put their faith in Surya to put an innings back on track after a rough start. But when you don’t have that kind of pull, the other side is free to have their say in the middle overs. It has a way of throwing off your combinations, and all of a sudden MI are the ones having to react to the game plan instead of making one.
Bumrah’s come-back, as a team effort
Then there was the matter of Jasprit Bumrah. With his fitness being such a hot topic at the moment, MI had to be judicious about how they brought him back in a year where they’ve been shorthanded by injuries. “We had a good, open talk with him and the staff,” Jayawardene put it. “It was a collective thing. We’re all learning from this sort of season. He put in the work over the last couple of months to be where he needs to be.”
In a lot of ways, you could see the philosophy there: we make our calls as a unit, not in a vacuum. But even with your best bowler back in the mix, if the rest of the pieces don’t fall into place, it doesn’t do you much good.
Jayawardene won’t have it that the squad didn’t get fired up. He’ll put it on the leadership to hold everyone to account once the dust has settled. Injuries were part of it, sure, but they don’t explain everything.
“We have a core, and it’s on us to own it. We’ve had some very good talks, but we haven’t been able to galvanise the group. Something to mull over when the season is done,” he said.
Looking back and forward
Which brings up the hard part: with a roster like Rohit, Surya, Bumrah and Hardik, why did they seem so unsteady for large parts of IPL 2026? The numbers don’t lie, but the post-season reckoning will have to make sense of why having match-winners on paper didn’t mean you had control of the game.
On the subject of Rohit, the new line of thinking puts things in perspective. It’s less of a safety measure and more of a way to play the rules to your advantage. It shows you’re prepared to let go of the optics for a bit of tactical room.
Will that be enough to change the end result? That’s for another day. You have your opener who now has to be the one to steady the ship, a finisher who has to adapt, and an attack that has to be built around its leader. For Mumbai, the story of this season will be told in the review, not in the physio.
